Welcome to the Hunter section of my Tomb Raider Skills Guide. Similar to the previous post I’ll be using a rating system to prioritize which skills are better than the others.
- A = Highly recommended skills. Get these first.
- B = Get these after A.
- C = Acquire these only after getting A and B.
Steady Shot: Hold charged bow shots for double the time.
The more you use the bow the better you become at it, so you’ll know when to charge a shot and when to fire. This skill is only useful during the beginning when you’re still getting a feel on how the bow works so it loses its value in the long run. I’ll leave this one to you.
Rating: B
Ammo Capacity: Increases total ammunition you can carry for all weapons.
More ammo is always good but you won’t need it until later. I suggest prioritizing other skills over this one.
Rating: B
Heavy Lifter: Maximizes total extra ammunition you can carry for all weapons.
Ditto.
Rating: B
Accomplished Killer: Earn extra XP with headshots, finishing moves and stealth kills.
If you like getting rewarded for your kills then this is the skill for you. This is more of a preference than anything since you can simply mow down your enemies if you like. Those preferring a stealthier approach should take this skill because the XP boost is significant.
Rating: B
Bow Expert: Stab enemies at close range with your arrows for extra rewards. Also unlocks headshot reticule.
Pistol Expert: Execute enemies at point blank range for extra rewards. Also unlocks headshot reticule.
Machine Gun Expert: Unload your rifle at close range to brutally finish enemies and earn bonus rewards.
Shotgun Expert: Blast enemies with the shotgun at close range to stop them in their tracks and earn extra rewards.
The four weapon expert skills will allow Lara to perform execution moves on stunned enemies using her current weapon. Normally, if you’re fighting a stunned enemy and you don’t have any of the weapon expert skills yet, Lara will execute her foe with a melee attack when you press the Melee button during the prompt. If you acquired Pistol Expert and you have the pistol equipped, she’ll shoot him in the head instead.
Performing weapon expert execution moves grant significant XP rewards so the payoff is big. Unfortunately, these only become available late in the game so you may not even need the XP at that point. Also, I didn’t find the headshot reticule very useful. It’s only a reassurance that I’ll be making a headshot. I can already see that I’m aiming at someone’s head. I don’t need a special interface to tell me that.
Rating: B